ICQ Log - Ethics:  

Managing Ethics Where You Work 

 

Last Updated: 10 September 2021

Ed McDonald, FCOI, MA in Ethics and Corporate Responsibility, MBS and member of the ACOI Ethics Committee, discusses ethics in the workplace; reasons people may not express their ethical views at work, why some workers make choices they consider to be unethical and how you can improve ethical standards in your organisation. 

The reality of the workplace: In any organisation, Ethics is about a mixture of things – company culture, values, attitudes and behaviours, attitudes of other people, and that all-important dimension of “how we do things around here”. Much of that may have evolved over a longer time, or come from a new influencer or by someone who somehow exerted a strong Managing Ethics Where You Work influence. Societies and organisations develop over time and often have “their ways” of doing things. As philosopher Lawrence Hinman noted “Certain things are acceptable to say, but other things are not acceptable. 

In most circles it is socially quite acceptable to be in favour of honesty, fairness, respect for other people and so on; (and) it is frowned upon to approve of lying, cheating or using other people as mere "tools" . Have you ever heard anyone lay claim to having “Values” that include lying and cheating and disrespect, ever seen these in a Code of Conduct? And yet these things happen. They happen because of people and the choices they make or actions they choose. There is a lot written about how some organisations have behaved and what their attitudes have been –despite what their written Code of Conduct said about high values.

Ethics in your workplace (be that the organisation itself, a division, a department, a branch, a team, a subsidiary) is not your responsibility alone, but you have a part to play in it, no matter what level you are at. There is also the ethics aspect of how you relate to consumers, clients, suppliers, and the various other people you have to deal with. What you can do and what influence you can exert will depend on other factors. These include the level of authority you have in the company, the strength of your personal values and your ability or determination to argue for them, where you can present your views, and whether you have the confidence to argue in support of them. 

Not everybody will feel at ease about arguing in defence of their ethical view. Your views may be met with nods of understanding or irritation, with a whimsical response, with disdain and dismissal and being put down in private conversations, and even with outright ridicule or rejection. A key aspect in all of this is to separate out what are the actual ethical issues and deal with them, and don’t personalise it by arguing about or criticising other people who may hold different views.

Lots of forces at play:

There are many aspects and players involved in most ethics-related issues, some more dominant than others, and there are likely to be different interpretations and senses of priorities. You are working every day with other people, who may have different standards or values to you. That is not to say that any of those values per se is wrong or incorrect. The pace of communications technology and its ever-present immediacy is a challenge to deal with – information or opinions from print, broadcast, social media, protests, the information sources you have, and the expectation that you also must think about the Ethics dimension. Then there are the “Values” that each individual person holds or prioritises. Remember the myriad of parties you are interacting with. 

Your company may have a Code of Conduct setting out what the company says it values and how it expects you to act. Then there may be your Director or Manager with his/her expectations and attitudes. There will also be your fellow team members who may see some things differently to you. And don’t forget your friends and social acquaintances, competitor companies and your clients and suppliers. Few of us as individuals have our own unique written Code – we “just know” it. Look around and consider what is your impression of what their attitudes and values might be – what they say, how they act and behave, who holds particular viewpoints. That’s usually all that you have to go on when you meet or interact with anyone. So how do you act or present your views when you sense or see an issue that may have an important ethical aspect?

What might hinder you in expressing a view on an ethical aspect?

There are many factors that can affect us from openly expressing concerns or questioning something. These can include:

    1. A sense of deference to others because they are more senior (in age, status in the group)
    2. Being respectful of others’ views, especially if they seem more authoritative
    3. That your company doesn’t create a sense of accepting the value of your views
    4. Some people are more definite than others with their views or opinions
    5. A feeling that your views might be met with an air of intolerance or that it could affect your position or job role
    6. That others may present their arguments more vigorously and more confidently
    7. That you don’t feel self-assured enough about what you have to say
    8. That you don’t feel sufficiently strong about your views compared to others
    9. A feeling that you might be ostracised within the company because of your contrarian views (remember the Nyberg Report on the Banking crisis and its criticism of the intolerance of contrarian views).

Why might any of us do something that might be unethical?

There are many possible explanations, including:

    1. Not being sufficiently confident in how to resist
    2. Not thinking enough about the ethics of an issue or its implications and knock-ons
    3. Being easily influenced by others (who may have no problem with expressing their views) – be they your seniors, colleagues or simply more vociferous
    4. A sense that the company’s culture doesn’t tolerate querying of possible ethics issues (regardless of what Its Code might say; “the way we do things around here”)
    5. The possibility that you might upset the opportunities to gain or win something • Incentives to say nothing might be too enticing
    6. That the company seems to tolerate some bad practices or behaviours because the company or key individuals benefit from them.

So what can you do about Ethics standards?

While your company may have a Code of Ethics, so too does everyone in the company, even if they are not written down – you, your colleagues, your managers. You have your own standards and values. Ethics is about practice, not just what is written. What happens if they clash with the company’s standards or values or if they are different? Remember that each of your colleagues may have standards that are a bit, or a lot, different to yours. But you still need to find some consensus on what makes them right or wrong and in what way, and enable all of you to work and co-operate reasonably. So it’s always worth thinking about a few aspects when a potential ethics conflict might arise. There are several decision-making frameworks available, and I covered a few of them in previous articles. This is a quick guide to help you.

    1. What is the ethical issue or aspect at stake; define it clearly. Does everyone else see it as being an issue and if so, what are their views?
    2. What are the differences of interpretation of the issue?
    3. How significant are the differences?
    4. How important are the differences? How strongly does each person hold their views, you included, and are each of you prepared to make your case?
    5. Are you open to discussion about the issue?
    6. Can you be persuaded by the other person’s argument, or can they be persuaded by yours?
    7. Remember, you need to find some kind of consensus about what to do.

It’s amazing that there are over 8 billion people in the world and that there are probably only about 20-30 significant theories of ethical practice and moral standards. Some of those theories are very different from the others. And yet a case can be made for each of them. Of course, there are also people who deliberately do bad things and who are unconcerned by the standards set out in these theories. Most of us don’t rigorously stick to any one ethics theory; if we knew all the theories, we might see ourselves as using elements from a few of them.

As a conclusion, think of the people you work or socialise with and try and imagine what their ethical styles might be, based on what you know of them, how you observe and interact with them. Which of them is quite rulesoriented in what they say and do? Which of them is focused on what is the desired outcome of something, what is their objective? And which of them seems to be focused on people’s character and allowing for different circumstances, without prescribing anything absolute? These three lean towards three of the main ethics theories in today’s Western world. What are the standards or values that you discern in each of them?

Author: Ed Mc Donald

FCOI, MA in Ethics and Corporate Responsibility, MBS and member of the  ACOI Ethics Committee 

ICQ Autumn Edition 2021

This article was taken from the ACOI's ICQ Autumn Edition 2021